Lusitania The Cultural History of a Catastrophe

On 7 May 1915, the Lusitania, a large British luxury liner, was sunk by a German submarine off the Irish coast. Nearly 1,200 people, including 128 American citizens, lost their lives. The sinking of a civilian passenger vessel without warning was a scandal of international scale and helped precipitate the United States' decision to enter the conflict. It also led to the immediate vilification of Germany. Thougfh the ship's sinking has preoccupied historians and the general public for over a century, the German side of the story has remained largely untold until now. ... Willi Jasper provides provides a comprehenaive reappraisal of the sinking and its aftermath, focusing on the German reaction and psyche. The attack on the Lusitania, he argues was not simply an escalation of violence but the signalling of a new ideological, moral and religious dimension in the strugglebetween Geran 'Kultur' and Western civilization."--Jacket.